Chapters

Chicago Area MOPAR | Rock Valley | Willowa | Fox River

In January of 1990, a group of MOPAR enthusiasts formed the Chicagoland MOPAR Connection. Through the years chapters have been added to accommodate the growth of this dynamic car club. First there was the Rock Valley Chapter, next was the Willowa Chapter, and then the Fox River Chapter. From the very early days there was always the membership that was called the Main Club, Today they are considered the CAM chapter.

Years later CMC has many hundreds of memberships and thousands that we consider members. A large portion of these members live in the greater metropolitan area of Chicago, IL. This geographical area includes Cook County, DuPage County, Will County, Kane County, Kendall County, Grundy County and northwestern Indiana. To put all members on an equal footing, in April of 2004 the C.M.C. membership approved the creation of a new chapter for this large area. The name chosen was CAM, for C hicago A rea M OPARs. The officers for this new chapter are: Don Ball as Director, Deborah Kufner as Secretary, Terry Bennett, as Treasurer.

We are the newest chapter of CMC with lots of new ideas. As is the case with the other 3 chapters, CAM is always looking for new members and new ideas!

Our events are the result of hard work by our volunteer membership, all of which are CMC members with great ambition. If you own a MOPAR, want to own a MOPAR, or just enjoy MOPARs we welcome you and your ideas.

Our CAM monthly meetings are on the last Tuesday of each month and are held at local Restaurants in CAM area. The meetings start by 7:00 P.M. and guests and new members are certainly welcome. To keep the meetings exciting, CMC sponsors host certain meetings. Bring your MOPAR to any of these meetings, whether it is a Muscle Car, Antique, Truck, Sports Car, Late Model, SUV, or Specialty, and show it off and have some fun! We always have flyers available for upcoming events and we hope to see you there!

Willowa Chapter

Meetings are held the 2nd Saturday of the month, usually at Tranz Tech, 30th & Elm, Dubuque, IA at 7:00 p.m. Our club is for anyone interested in the “Mopar” hobby that enjoys sharing information with others with the same interest. Chapter members are generally from the whole Tri-state area (Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois) including Davenport/Moline, Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, Postville, Madison, and to the Apple River area.

The Willowa Chapter has special events such as an Anniversary Bowling party, a picnic usually in July held at Galena, Illinois and a trek to Apple River, Il in October. We also have special speakers at the meetings. Some past speakers have been Galen Govier on decoding MOPAR VIN numbers, Jeff Miller on how to buy a car for restoration, Mike’s Service Center on buying tires and car trailers. Our meetings are kept as short as possible so that a “chat” sessions may be held. After summer meetings we try to travel to spots to enjoy ice cream and other treats. We sponsor the “Mopars on the Mississippi” Mopar Show & Swap meet annually and also a cruise-in on the Saturday evening before the show every August. We also participate as supporters with other area clubs for a all car & motorcyle charity show to benefit Camp Albrecht Acres. See the “Whats New” section and calendar for meeting and show dates.

Rock Valley Chapter

The Rock Valley Chapter of the Chicagoland Mopar Connection was the result of an idea conceived by John Slack out in Rockford. He knew of an enthusiastic group of Mopar folks in the area and wanted to organize them into a club. However, being familiar with the Chicagoland Mopar Connection, he felt it would be beneficial to be part of that much larger entity. He discussed the idea with then CMC President Scott Spirakes who agreed. Hence, our chapter came into being.

Geographically, our chapter covers North Central Illinois and Southern Wisconsin. With a membership of over 100 and monthly meeting attendance averaging around 48, we have become an integral part of CMC. Our chapter officers consist of Chapter Director Larry Bird, Assistant Chapter Director Roger Schmeling, Secretary Jeff Bird and Treasurer Art Pittaway.

The Rock Valley Chapter has produced the annual “Belvidere Mopar Happening” car show since 1991. In 2001, the event attracted nearly 500 vehicles and thousands of spectators making it one of the premier one day Mopar shows in the country! The time was right for expansion and the following year, we moved from our original home, the Belvidere Chrysler Assembly Plant, to the beautiful Boone County Fairgrounds just a few miles away and expanded to a two day event. This show has grown steadily from the first year showing of 107 vehicles, to the two day regional event it is today.

While the “Happening” is our major event, our chapter is very active year round. We have our chapter birthday party each February celebrating our formation. We have had Poker Runs and Road Rallies. Each fall, we host a pig roast. We follow that up with our “Boo-Hoo Bash” in Apple River IL in conjunction with our Willowa Chapter friends, giving us a great time to reflect on the past show season. We wind up our year with our Christmas Party which carries its own legend. When you sprinkle in organized participation to local cruises and shows and treks to national events you can see we have a VERY active chapter.

Our meetings are usually held on the second Saturday evening of the month, but do change on occasion when events dictate. Our chapter phone number is (815) 262 -0335 and chapter email is larry.b1@comcast.net. When you are in our area, give us a call. Everyone is welcome at the Rock Valley Chapter Meetings and events!

Fox River Chapter

The Fox River Chapter is our newest chapter catering to the needs of Lake, McHenry, and northern Cook counties in Illinois and Kenosha, Racine, and Milwaukee counties in Wisconsin. Our monthly meetings are held in Antioch, IL on the fourth Saturday of the month at Cuda’s Bar and Grill. Any Questions Contact Superbird Steve (847) 710-2300 or MoparMarc at (847) 815-2891

We hold a car show yearly at Veteran’s Park (Formerly known as Deer Haven Park) in Fox Lake, IL. generally on the third weekend of June. Veteran’s Park is a beautiful tree-lined city park with easy access and room for over 200 cars and trucks.

All CMC members are invited to attend our monthly meetings and we hold special meetings at area businesses on occasion. Besides the typical 1960’s – 1970’s Mopars, we also have a strong following of Modern Mopar and Jeeps. Please come up and see us in the north suburbs for a pleasant weekend drive. More Fox River Chapter info can be found in the “Whats New” section.